AUTISM SOLUTIONS
With echolalia, Olli can only repeat what others around him say,
sometimes answering ‘yes’ and ‘no’ questions as well. However,
with a simple melody, he was able to transform his unique
thoughts into song, making the impossible possible.
Would it be perhaps like seeing a giant image of
yourself on the screen for the first time?
With echolalia, Olli can only repeat what others
around him say, sometimes answering ‘yes’ and ‘no’
questions as well. However, with a simple melody,
he was able to transform his unique thoughts into
song, making the impossible possible. It was hum-
bling to witness, and so our musical partnership
took on a more symbolic meaning. This wasn’t about
playing music with an autistic student: our work to-
gether was about co-creating his music and giving
him a voice.
I have worked with Olli for nearly two years now, and
we spend 45-50 minutes each week improvising. I
follow his lead and create a musical structure for him
to express himself through what I call melodic words.
Melodic words are sometimes in English, French, or
Slovak (his exceptional SEN support worker Peter
Juhas is from Slovakia), and sometimes the words
are not in any language. However, they are still cre-
ations that serve to show how he is willing to partici-
pate and formulate a flow. We traverse subjects that
many people with autism enjoy—like machines and
animals—and we roam around in the world of pos-
sibilities as his sense of humor explores every corner
of life from his unique perspective. Songs are about
ride-on lawnmowers, eating pizza in the Spanish
mountains, black panthers, etc. Most recently, Olli
was able to express his observations on feelings,
which, again, is unusual. As the words took a melodic
shape, they fell freely from his lips. Perhaps the most
touching song about Olli’s ability to see and under-
stand a relationship between him and another is “I
Can See When You’re Not Happy.”
Our sessions began in a spacious music studio, with
him setting up the microphone through the mixer
while I faced away from him at the piano. I observed
how he was standing or walking around, and I lis-
tened for his low verbalizations (usually, but not al-
ways, in F) then I musicalized his offerings and found
a chordal pattern to act as a boat under him, carrying
him off. Olli is also a good drummer and was able
to sing and play at the same time. Musical idioms
that Olli seems to enjoy are klezma, blues, and trib-
al drumming, and I wonder if it’s the quick rhythmic
patterns of these styles that awaken and pique his
musicality. He is very responsive and takes the lead
with his melodies once we have established a loose
structure of 8-16 bars.
We have worked especially on endings in recent
sessions, and Olli is now able to read musical cues,
such as slowing down, that signal the end of a song.
Quite often, we are able to finish a song together at a
musically natural point. Olli always takes time to pro-
cess after a song, standing still and looking like he
is quietly contemplating his creation. He may then
rock back and forth and vocalize in his familiar low
hum—perhaps waiting for the next song to set him
free.
Autism Parenting Magazine | Issue 65 |
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